Fence.



Patented July 4, I899..

L. A. .SHORT. FENCE.

(Application filed Sept. 21, 1898.)

No. 6-28,l67.

(No Modgl.)

m: Moms PEYEI'IS co, FHOTQ-LIYHO., WASHINGTON. n. c.

To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' LEWIS A. SHORT, or SWARTZ CREEK, MICHIGAN.

FENCE.

srno'rrrcarroiv forming part or Letters Patent No. 628,167, dated July 4,1899. v Application filed September 21, 1898. Serial No. 691,521. (No model.)

Be it known that I, LEWIS A. SHORT, a citizen of the United States,v residing at Swartz Creek, in the county of Genesee and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Fence, of which the following is a specification. I

. My inventionvrelates to wire fences, and has for its object to provide a fence of this class wherein the Vertical strength of the panels is increased by trussing and wherein the longitudinal members of the fence are so connected and arranged with relation to each other that the severing of a member in one panel does not affect the next panel on either side, each longitudinal member of the fence forming, respectively, a runner and a truss member in adjoining panels.

- Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1- is a view of a fence constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view of the same in the course of construction and before the longitudinal members have been connected and twisted'to form Vertically-bracing trusses. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the runs of two strands, of which the portions located in alternate panels are intertwisted to form the truss-braces.

Similar numerals and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the construction of fence which I prefer each span, as between spaced posts 1 and 2,

may be divided by one .or more pickets 3 to form a plurality of panels, said pickets being supported by the wire members of the fence. In the construction illustrated the span between the posts 1 and 2 is divided by two pickets to form panels A, B, and O, and also in the construction illustrated there are upper and lower plural-strand marginal runners, between which are arranged a number of intermediate runners, as four. Each runner of one panel, however, is not a continuation of the corresponding runner of the adjoining panel, but, on the other hand,is a continuation of a truss member of such adjoining panel, these truss members being arranged ,in pairs and being intertwisted at points apstrands, whereby each keeper secures a plu-- rality of strands to the uprights of the fence. As above indicated, each marginal runner is of plural-strand construction, and in practice I prefer to form said marginal runners by the intertwisting of two ofthe strands extending through each marginal keeper, different pairs of such strands, however, being used in adjoining panels. Thus the strands a and b are inter-twisted in panel A to form the upper marginal runner, while the third marginal strand 0, which extends through the same keepers as the strands a and b, is deflected from the line of the marginal runner to form the upper member of a truss-brace, while in panel B the strands b and c are intel-twisted to form the upper marginal runner, and the strand a is deflected to form the upper member of a truss-brace, and in panel C the strands a' and b are again intertwisted to form the uppermarginal runner, while the strand-c is deflected for a purpose similar to that above indicated.

The strands d and e,which pass through the uppermost intermediate keepers in the panel A, form, respectively, the uppermost intermediate runner and the upper member of a trussbrace, which is below that of which the strand 0 forms a member, while in panel B the relative positions of the strands d and e are reversed, the strand 6 forming the uppermost intermediate runner, while the strand d is deflected to form the upper member of a trussbrace, which is below that of which the strand a forms a member. In panel C the positions of the strands d and e are again reversed to arrange them as in panel A. In the same way throughout the structure the strands f g, h 7;, and 70 Z, which pass, respectively, through the intermediate keepers below that engaged by the strands d e, are disposed alternately in adjoining panels, that strand which forms the runner in one panel being deflected from the line of the runner in the next panel to form a member of a truss-brace, and also the strands m n 0, which pass through the lowermost keeper, are disposed as described in connection with the strands a be. Thus in panelA the strands a b and m n form the upper and lower marginal runners and the strands d,f, h, and form the intermediate runners,while the strands c and 1' are drawn together and intertwisted at the center of said panel A, the strands e and Zare correspondingly drawn together and intertwisted to form a lower brace, and the strands g and 0 are correspondingly connected ata still lower point. These intertwisted truss members maybe elli'ectu ally connected by inserting a pin or bar between them and turning it to twist said members in the opposite direction from a central point, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. It will be seen that each arm of a truss-brace intersects one or more arms of other braces and also one of the strands forming a runner, and in the vertical planes of these intersections I arrange stays 5, terminally attached to the marginal runners and looped, respectively, in the planes of the intermediate runners, as shown at 6, and engaged with the intersecting members of the fence. This locking of the members at their points of intersection prevents relative displacement, and the stays are arranged to intersect those diamonds formed between the arms of the braces, while the remaining intervals between the runners are divided, respectively,by theintertwisted central portions of the braces and by the diagonally-disposed portions of the brace-arms located outside of or beyond said stays, thereby forming a fence of which the intervals between the members are small and are incapable of allowing the passage of small stock.

In panel B the marginal runners are formed by the strands b c and n 0, the intermediate runners by the strands e, g, 2', and l, while the strands a, d, f, h, 70, and m are inter-twisted to form the truss-braces, substantially as described in connection with panel A.

From the above description it will be seen that I have constructed a fence whereby if a strand is broken in one panel the positions of the parts in the adjoining panel will not be afiected. For instance, should the strand L of panel B and forming the lowermost intermediate runner be broken it will not aflect either of the runners of the adjoining panels A and O. The continuations of the runnerstrand l form the lower members of the centralor intermediate truss-braces of the panels A and C, and even should the tension exerted by these truss-braces be sufficient to cause them to yield slightly by reason of a break v the remaining members of the panels A and C will retain their normal positions. Furthermore, the specific arrangement of the stays which engage the strands at their points of intersection serves to prevent relative displacement in case of the breakage of a strand in one of the panels; also, should one of the strands of the marginal runner be broken in panel B it will not alfect the marginal runners of either of the panels A and C, for the reason that only one strand of the marginal runner in one panel is a continuation of a strand in the marginal runner of the adjoining panel. Hence should the strand oof panel B be broken it can alfect only the lowermost truss-brace of the panel A and not the lower marginal runner of the panel A.

A further advantage of the construction resides in the fact that the tension of the Various members may be taken up at the points of looseness. For instance, looseness of the runner members in panel A may be taken up by tightening the brace of panel B, and vice versa.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A fence having marginal and intermediate runners, and truss-braces of which the members equal in number with the runners intersect the intermediate runners and are intertwisted at their intermediate points, and stays terminally attached to the marginal runners and provided res'pectivelyin the planes of the intermediate runners with loops each of which engages an intermediate runner and a brace member at their point of intersection; substantially as specified.

2 A fence having marginal and intermediate runners, and truss-braces having centrally-intertwisted members of which the terminal arms are divergently disposed to intersect the intermediate runners, each intermediate runner of one panel forming one member of a truss-brace of the adjoining panel, substantially as specified.

3. A fence having marginal and intermediate runners, of which the former are of plural-strand construction, and truss-braces consisting of centrally-intertwisted members of which the terminal arms are divergently disposed to intersect the intermediate runners, each intermediate runner of one panel being extended to form a member of a trussbrace in the adjoining panel, and one strand of each marginal runner of one panel being correspondingly extended to form one member of a truss-brace in said adjoining panel, substantially as specified.

4. A fence having uprights provided with keepers corresponding in number with the runners, and a plurality of strands extending through each keeper, one strand in each keeper being stretched between the uprights in one panel to form a runner, and being deflected in the adjoining panel to form a member of a truss-brace, and terminally remote the truss-brace members being centrally in 10 truss-brace members being centrally intertertwisted in pairs, substantiallyas specified. twisted, substantially as specified. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 5. A fence having uprights provided with my own I have hereto affixed my signature in a plurality of keepers corresponding in numthe presence of two Witnesses. her with the runnersgind a plurality of strands extending through each keeper, each strand 1 in adjoining panels respectively forming a runner and a member of a truss-brace, and

LEWIS A. SHORT. \Vitnesses:

ARTHUR D. SALISBURY, PARK DONELSON. 

